Moyes lauds impact made by Joao Mario and Masuaku

24 avril 2018

David Moyes lauded the impact made by Joao Mario and Arthur Masuaku in Saturday’s 3-0 Premier League win over Southampton at London Stadium.

The Portugal star belted in his first goal in Claret and Blue following his January loan move from Inter Milan, while left wing-back Masuaku announced his return from a six-match suspension with an outstanding assist for Marko Arnautovic’s second and West Ham’s third which put the game beyond the Saints.

Speaking first about Joao Mario, Moyes says the technically-gifted midfielder is getting better with every game he plays in English football.

Joao Mario brings a little bit of flair, he’s good on the ball, and a bit of natural talent. What goes unnoticed is that he’s actually a really hard-working boy as well

David Moyes

“I think Joao Mario has done well since he came in,” said the manager. “I said to a friend the other day ‘tell me who’s made an impact as a signing in January for any Premier League club?’.

“It’s not that easy to think of players who have made an impact from January. To come to the Premier League and play is not easy.

“I think Joao Mario had probably his best game for us on Saturday: he got us a really good goal, he got us the assist for the second one, so that pleased me overall. I think You’ve got to praise him for what he’s done on Saturday, especially.

“You hope the environment helped him settle. Again, it’s not an easy thing to come into the Premier League and do something, but he’s played quite a few games and that’s helped him as well. It’s not an easy situation for him, but he’s experienced, he’s a Portuguese international and he was at Inter Milan for a reason and that’s because he is a good player.

“He brings a little bit of flair, he’s good on the ball, and a bit of natural talent. What goes unnoticed is that he’s actually a really hard-working boy as well.

“What we’ve needed from him – we’ve not had Manuel Lanzini, that was the reason we brought him, when [Lanzini] was injured in January – was to give us a goal, or an assist, and he came up with the goods.”

Moving onto Masuaku, Moyes was delighted to welcome the direct running, ability to carry the ball forward at pace and delivery the No26 brings to the team.

“We have missed the natural balance he brings, whether you see him as a left-back, a left wing-back or a left winger, he’s a little bit of all of them at different times in the game for us.

“In a way, I think he has benefited from his time off, because we’ve used that time to practice his finishing, his crossing and he’s positionally a little bit better. The cross he put in for Marko was terrific, so from that point of view, although it was six games it felt like six months we were missing him!